Genes are not all these triplets share. The three Mireles sisters — from left to right: Erica, Monica, and Sonia — now inhabit the same dorm room, share an interest in science, and pay homage to the same school colors, blue and gold.

The freshman trio from the Central Valley town of Sanger — possibly Cal’s first set of triplets — credit much of their academic success to their hard-working parents, Abel and Emma Mireles.

“You have to make sacrifices for them,” says Abel. “Not just for 18 years, but for the rest of their lives…. We helped them open the door, but they had to go through it.”

On Move-in Day, grandparents, cousins, and aunts also offered support — leaving Sanger at 5:30 a.m. to drive the Mireles sisters, and their worldly possessions, to Cal for the start of a new chapter in their lives.